By Default
As we rode through a fog, my father and I,
the car we were in, seemed to know its way home
Hands on the wheel, without eyes on the road
We were numb from the cold. No words left to say ....
We had prayed through the night in a hospital haze,
clinging to a hope, that had slipped far away
Until the end of the world came upon the new day
Arriving home in the car, unable to talk,
our hopes and our tears had nowhere to land.
If just one would escape, where would it go?
No shoulder, ...no dam. How would they stop?...
My Dad was in shock, as he stood by the gate,
a glaze in his eyes, ......and a million years old
My feet froze in place, and knees shivered cold
but as the sun rose, I reached out to hold
his hand in the dawn, and took the control
I took him inside, and with deliberate intrusion
I fed him some soup, and put him to bed
He was the child, and I the adult
Day after day, somehow by default
our roles were reversed, ...and I became strong
My childhood had ended,.....and his had begun
_______________________________________________________
Copyright © Carrie Richards | Year Posted 2015
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